Ellen G. White and Her Critics

Modern Medical View of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia (dementia praecox), says a medical textbook, is “the most prevalent of all the major mental disorders,” accounting for about one third of mental cases in United States hospitals. Probably “the majority of definite schizophrenic conditions arise in individuals who have always had a tendency toward withdrawal from ordinary activities.” The onset of the malady usually appears before the age of twenty-five, and is as likely to appear in one sex as the other. “Odd grimaces, contortions, mannerisms and stereotyped movements are also frequently seen.” EGWC 67.3

After describing variant symptoms that accompany certain types of schizophrenia, the medical writer declares: EGWC 68.1

“The course of the schizophrenic disorders follows no definite path. At times a schizophrenic episode may be followed by a spontaneous and apparently complete remission. This, unfortunately, is rather rare. More commonly, one sees a succession of schizophrenic episodes with periods of normal behavior of variable duration. In the great majority of cases the course is progressively downhill.”—WALLACE MASON YATER, The Fundamentals of Internal Medicine, p. 900. EGWC 68.2

Let us summarize the generally accepted medical facts regarding schizophrenia: EGWC 68.3

1. A person experiencing a schizophrenic episode is, frankly, an insane person. EGWC 68.4

2. The period of insanity is not confined to minutes or hours—the length of Mrs. White’s visions—but to days and weeks, generally over a course of years. EGWC 68.5

3. Complete return to normal, with no further episodes after a certain date, is “rather rare.” EGWC 68.6

4. “In the great majority of cases the course is progressively downhill.” EGWC 68.7

5. The personality of the schizophrenic is increasingly colored by his abnormal episodes. EGWC 68.8